Courtesy of Greenhouse Magazine
Want to try composting but not sure where to start? Save this handy guide to what you can and can't throw in the compost bin.
What's that, you say? You want more composting information? Check out this beginner's guide to composting by food writer Jennifer Cockrall-King.
What can I compost?
The Best
- Fruit and vegetable scraps (including tops, peelings and rinds)
- Eggshells
- Tea leaves and bags
- Coffee grounds
- Spices and dried herbs
- Wooden toothpicks
- Paper, paper products and cardboard packaging* (no waxy or glossy coating)
- Paper plates*
- Cardboard from toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls
- Grass clippings
- Leaves
- Branches and twigs*
- Yard and garden waste (as long as it's not diseased; omit weeds that may harbour seeds)
Still OK But Not the Best
- Pet fur, hair and nail clippings (they take longer to break down, so cut them up as much as possible)
- Breads, pasta and baking (small amounts, as they're pest magnets and can increase salinity to undesirable levels)
- Organic cloth or clothing**
- Rope and rug**
- Dryer lint if most of your clothing is natural fibres
Keep Out!
(Rule of thumb: When in doubt, leave it out!)
- Rocks and minerals
- Plastics and polystyrenes
- Metals, including foil
- Anything with a hazard, biohazard, chemical hazard or caution sign
- Feces
- Used personal hygiene products
- Diseased plant material
- Weeds and noxious plant material
- Walnut (including the leaves, wood, roots, nuts and nutshells)
- Highly processed organic materials (rubber, latex, etc.)
- Glossy and wax-coated paper products (magazines, catalogues, cards, most wrapping papers, etc.)
- Oily and fatty foods (peanut butter, mayonnaise, grease, butter, etc.)
- Meat, bones, blood and animal fats
* Preferably shredded
** Compost only elements made from 100 per cent organic fibre (cotton, wool, linen, hemp, canvas, silk, feathers and bamboo). Remove any inorganic elements (i.e., zippers, buttons, grommets or fasteners). Cut or shred into small pieces. Note: fur and leather are not compostable due to chemical treatments they undergo during processing.
Got it? Think you're now a master gardener? Take our quiz and test what you've learned.
This article originally ran in the Spring 2015 issue of Greenhouse, the alumni magazine of the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences.
